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  Process for production of hydrogen from anaerobically deomposed organic materialsUSPTO Application #: 20070056842Title: Process for production of hydrogen from anaerobically deomposed organic materials Abstract: A process for the production of hydrogen from anaerobically decomposed organic materials by applying an electric potential to the anaerobically decomposed organic materials, including landfill materials and sewage, to form hydrogen, and for decreasing the time required to treat these anaerobically decomposed organic materials. The organic materials decompose to volatile acids such as acetic acid, which may be hydrolyzed by electric current to form hydrogen. The process may be continuously run in sewage digestion tanks with the continuous feed of sewage, at landfill sites, or at any site having a supply of anaerobically decomposed or decomposable organic materials. (end of abstract) Agent: Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP Intellectual Property Department - New York, NY, US Inventor: Sukomal Roychowdhury USPTO Applicaton #: 20070056842 - Class: 204164000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Chemistry: Electrical And Wave Energy, Non-distilling Bottoms Treatment, Electrostatic Field Or Electrical Discharge The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070056842. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This application is a Continuation-In-Part of patent application Ser. No. 08/659,644 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,266. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] It is recognized that additional sources of energy are needed for sustained industrial growth. There exists an ever present danger in depending too heavily on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels (hydrocarbons) represent a limited supply of stored energy which are typically released during a combustion process. By burning hydrocarbons mankind has spewed billions of tons of toxic pollutants into the atmosphere. It therefore makes sense from both an environmental and economic standpoint to develop alternative sources of renewable fuels. [0003] Hydrogen is a fuel which does not produce pollutants, water being its only combustion product. Hydrogen has many industrial uses in the production of fertilizers, dyes, drugs, plastics, hydrogenated oils and fats and methanol and is used in many industries. It is also used as a rocket fuel and in this invention as a minus-emissions fuel that allows ordinary engines to clean the air. [0004] 1. Field of the Invention [0005] This invention relates to a process for the production of hydrogen from anaerobically decomposed organic materials, including materials such as those found in landfill materials and sewage sludge, by applying an electric potential to and thereby creating a current through the anaerobically decomposed organic material and thereby forming hydrogen. [0006] 2. Description of Related Art [0007] The established processes for producing commercially significant amounts of hydrogen are: (1) steam reforming of hydrocarbons, (2) partial oxidation of coal, (3) electrolysis of water, and (4) direct use of solar radiation (photovoltaic method). [0008] Steam-reformation of hydrocarbons and partial oxidation of coal are disadvantageous in that fossil hydrocarbon fuels are consumed. Production of hydrogen by electrolysis of water, a relatively simple and non-polluting process, is costly and therefore economically disadvantageous for most industrial applications because the amount of energy needed for electrolysis of water exceeds the energy obtained from the combustion of the resulting hydrogen. Photovoltaic methods of hydrogen production have inherent inadequacy related to access to solar radiation for much of the world's population. [0009] Unlike the methods for production of hydrogen outlined above, the process of the present invention does not depend on fossil fuels or the somewhat random appearance of sunlight to produce hydrogen. The present process converts what are typically waste materials into hydrogen, while simultaneously reducing the mass of said materials and/or reducing the treatment time of such materials by application of a relatively small and/or intermittent electric potential to said materials. The process of this invention uses raw materials typically found in, among other places, municipal waste sites and sewage treatment plants and produces more energy, in the form of the chemically stored potential energy of hydrogen, than the electric energy required to produce the hydrogen. [0010] A method of producing hydrogen from sugars is discussed in Energy and the Environment, Proceedings of the 1st World Renewable Energy Congress, Reading, UK 23-28 Sep. 1990. S. Roychowdhury and D. Cox ("Roychowdhury"). This method involves the production of hydrogen from pure sugars such as glucose or maltose. [0011] Roychowdhury reports the initial production of hydrogen upon inoculation of a sugar solution with so-called "landfill inocula". To obtain landfill inocula, materials were obtained from various depths in a landfill, dried, ground (to obtain "landfill powder") and then incubated in situ. The incubated culture medium was observed to produce carbon dioxide and methane, primarily, and little else, indicating the presence of highly methanogenic flora in the inoculum. The supernatant from this culture medium, or in some cases the landfill powder, were used as inocula. [0012] Previously, Roychowdhury disclosed that upon inoculation of various sugar solutions with the landfill supernatant or landfill powder, the sugar solution produced hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and no methane or oxygen; indicating the presence of hydrogen-producing bacteria present in the landfill inoculum and/or landfill hydrogen. Hydrogen production decreased with increasing acidity. [0013] It is another object of this invention to provide a method of hydrogen production which does not require the use of fossil fuels. [0014] It is an object of the invention to serve communities that have relatively undeveloped electricity distribution and other energy infrastructures with a system that provides useful energy from collected wastes. [0015] It is an object of the present invention to separate carbon dioxide, nitrogen and other gases from produced hydrogen. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0016] This invention relates generally to a process which produces hydrogen from anaerobically decomposed organic materials such as anaerobically composted cellulosic materials and anaerobically digested sewage sludge. This process decreases the time required to treat anaerobically composed cellulosic materials and anaerobically digested sewage sludge. More specifically, the invention relates to an embodiment wherein a relatively low electric potential is applied to anaerobically decomposed organic materials such as anaerobically composted cellulosic waste materials and anaerobically digested sewage sludge which, as a result of anaerobic decomposition, have been fermented into "volatile" carboxylic acids such as acetic acid and bicarbonates of ammonia. The electric current resulting from the application of an electric potential is believed to hydrolyze the acetic acids, other volatile carboxylic acids, and bicarbonates of ammonia within the decomposed materials, thereby producing hydrogen. Formation of methane is suppressed, Organic mass, such as solids contained within sewage sludge is reduced at an increased rate, and the time required to treat waste materials such as sewage sludge is thereby reduced. [0017] In another embodiment the time of application of electropotential is intermittent and the duty cycle of voltage application is adaptively adjusted to minimize electric power consumption while maximizing hydrogen production. In application it is believed that the activities of microorganisms that produce enzymes that release hydrogen from the ferment is greatly encouraged and that activities of microorganisms that produce enzymes favoring methane production are depressed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0018] FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing both production of hydrogen and suppression of methaneogenesis from anaerobically decomposed organic materials in the presence of an applied electropotential, and methanogenesis from anaerobically decomposed organic materials in the absence of an applied electropotential. [0019] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a process for production of hydrogen which includes on-site anaerobic decomposition of organic material. [0020] FIG. 3 is a bar graph representation of the information in Table 1. [0021] FIG. 4 is a bar graph representation of the information in Table 3. Continue reading... Full patent description for Process for production of hydrogen from anaerobically deomposed organic materials Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Process for production of hydrogen from anaerobically deomposed organic materials patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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